Groat and Alpern Winners Named

The 2014 recipients of the Judge William B. Groat Alumni Award and the Jerome Alpern Award have been announced by Harry Katz, ILR's Kenneth F. Kahn Dean and Jack Sheinkman Professor.

Selected for contributions to ILR and Cornell, and for professional successes, Pamela O. Kimmet '80 will receive the Groat Award and K. Lisa Yang '74 will receive the Alpern Award.

They will be honored at the school's annual celebration, being held on March 27 at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.

"We are so excited to be able to honor the impressive accomplishments of these two alumnae leaders," Katz said. "I look forward to celebrating with them and their families, friends and fellow alumni in March."

Kimmet is senior vice president of human resources at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. She previously served as senior managing director and head of global human resources of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.

Before that, Kimmet was senior vice president of human resources of Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., held leadership positions at Citigroup in its compensation and benefits department and worked at General Motors.

Chairman of the board of the National Business Group On Health since 2009, she has been a director since 2004. Kimmet serves on ILR's Center for Advanced Human Resources Study Advisory Board and on the ILR Advisory Council.

A member of the Personnel Roundtable and the Conference Board's Executive Compensation Council, Kimmet earned an MBA from Michigan State University.

Yang is a former investment banker who now devotes her time to a number of charitable causes, including the Devereux Foundation, and serves as a voice for people with physical and mental disabilities.

After graduating from ILR, she completed an MBA at Columbia University. Her work in the financial services industry included positions at Lehman Brothers and First Boston.

Yang has established scholarships for undergraduate international students at Cornell and her support of ILR's Employment & Disability Institute has enabled the institute to expand involvement of Cornell students in disability studies education.

Yang has also been instrumental in broadening the institute's involvement in cross-college collaborations.

She is a member of the ILR School Advisory Council and has served on the Cornell University Council.